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Am I a Thief? Help Me Decide!
Hello Friends. I've recently finished recording a song with my brother called "More of You". For the most part I like the song, but the more I listened to the electric guitar lead played in the intro, the progression between chorus/verses, and the ending the more I knew I've heard it before. I asked my brother if he thought it sounded familiar, but he didn't think it did. The funny thing is that when we worked on the lead I played some notes for him on piano and he took it and "made it his own" (LOL maybe). I had him playing the notes B down to F#, up to C#, down to F#, up to D#, down to F#, etc... everything kind of pivoted off of that F#. Well, he took it and began to pivot off of the F#, but added the B on the way up to the C# and the D# etc... making it a little more fluent rather than driving. Anyway, It drove me nuts for days, but I think I've put my finger on what I think it sounds like. At first it really reminded me of the electric lead in Mark Roach's song "As Long As I Have You" but I could hear some distinction, so I kept thinking. Finally, I think I've figured it out. It sounds A LOT like the sung melody from "Your Name Is Holy" off of the Vineyard: Hungry (Falling On My Knees) album. Skillet covered this song as well. During this song the melody for "You are the Sovereign..." and "You are the pure spotless..." etc... sounds identical to the notes played during the lead in my song. I haven't notated the melody for "Your Name Is Holy" to see if it was the same exact pattern and intervals, but just listening to it sounds like it may be. **Quick Note... I'm pretty sure my brother hasn't heard either of these songs which is funny (Ry, if you come across this discussion you'll have to leave a comment and let us know).**
AND...now my question. When writing a song where is that line between originality and mimicking? What are some of the copyright guidelines in place on this topic? Are any/all kinds of similarities forbidden? To what extent? I don't want to be known for "ripping off other people's ideas" in my song writing so, I figured I would ask people smarter than I (the WTR community) to shine some light on this for me. Thanks so much for the help!
You can hear "More of You" by clicking the attachment below, visiting my page, or going to the More of You discussion in Bizzy Bender's Songwriter's Circle group.
AND...now my question. When writing a song where is that line between originality and mimicking? What are some of the copyright guidelines in place on this topic? Are any/all kinds of similarities forbidden? To what extent? I don't want to be known for "ripping off other people's ideas" in my song writing so, I figured I would ask people smarter than I (the WTR community) to shine some light on this for me. Thanks so much for the help!
You can hear "More of You" by clicking the attachment below, visiting my page, or going to the More of You discussion in Bizzy Bender's Songwriter's Circle group.
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More of You.mp3, 5.1 MB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Al Hilgendorf on -
I think that if Jared Anderson can write a song like "Glorified" that sounds way too much like Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" then we're all alright.
al
www.everydaypraise.com
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Permalink Reply by David Prentice on -
Well, if you are, you wouldn't be the first. When George Harrison penned "My Sweet Lord", he honestly didn't realize it was a rip-off of "He's So Fine".
Tommy Walker says that all songs are a theme and variation of others in melody and chord structure. The copyright laws, if I remember correctly, say that if you do 4 bars without significant variation, you've got a problem.
The poet said "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Solomon said "there's nothing new under the sun."
God looks upon the heart checks our motives. I think you know an honest mistake when you see one.
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Permalink Reply by Robert MacFarland on
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Amen. Just Do It. Do it for the Lord's Glory.
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Permalink Reply by Danny L. Davis on -
You are not a thief as that indicates intent. Your intent was to glorify God. Your process went through both you and your brother with the final product coming from one with no exposure to the original works in question, it would seem. That does not indicate malice intent and at worst a subconscious partial remembrance of something buried. So I don't think your creation is tarnished, but whether its legal may be up to an idiot judge. If I remember right, I think Huey Lewis won a copyright infringement case against Ray Parker, Jr. because the bass line on "Ghostbusters" was too close to "I Wanna New Drug." Give me a stinkin' break!!! If there were ever two songs that were their own songs they are it. But a judge saw otherwise. Any change you might decide to make shouldn't be due to any wrongdoing, but the desire to be "above even the appearance of sin".
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